kevin brady of texas and the democrat from new york. more about gun violence and regulations with a usa today reporter. first, calls, e-mails, and >> i to unconsidered criminal background checks to be done control. -- i do not consider criminal by crown to six to be done control. background checks gun- control. it is common sense. senator patns

toomey of pennsylvania. our question for this first segment of "washington journal." the senate votes to bed on the gun control debate. if you want to call with an gun control.oday on you can continue the conversation on our facebook page. you can send us a comment on twitter, or send an e-mail. annie is the capitol hill producer for c-span. she sent this e-mail and it gives a precise explanation on what is going to happen. we will start by reading what is going to happen today. the senate adjourned last night

at 6:45 p.m. will occur --te occur at 11:00 a.m. today according to harry reid. at 9:30 a.m., the senate will be in to considered the motion on the firearms bill. at 11:00 a.m., the senate will take a closer look on the motion to proceed for the firearms bill. 60 votes are needed to cut off debate and advance the bill. if 60 votes are achieved, there 30 hour debate followed by a vote on the motion to proceed before the senate can get to the action to proceed.

done throughe unanimous consent. if there is even one of a section on the republican side, the senate will have no choice than to use the 30 hours and hold a vote on the motion to proceed. senator reid said the first manchin- will be been toomey background check compromise. cloture vote on whether or not to proceed on the debate on the gun bill. toomey-manchin bill, particularly on background checks, here are some highlights of that bill. manchin and pat

-- would bills ays, require states and the federal government to send all this is our records on criminals and the violently mentally ill to the national instant criminal background check system. the bill extends the existing background check system to gun shows and online sales. it is a felony for any person who refuses or illegally retained firearms records. part one of this bill is getting all of the names of prohibit purchasers into the background check system. this includes clarifying that submissions of mental health records into the system are not prohibited by federal privacy law. requiring background

checks for firearm sales. this section requires that context for sales at gun shows and online while requiring aspects of second amendment rights for law enforcement. tidal theory is the national commission on massive violence. is the national commission on mass violence. it looks at all aspects of the problem, including school safety his guns, mental health and violent media or video games. the bill will not take away anyone's's guns. the bill will not ban any type guns.e arms -- anyone's the bill will not create a national registry. it makes it illegal to establish

in such a registry. uponill will not infringe the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. manchin-toomey bill. the senate will be voting on whether or not to continue the debate today. for republicans, 202-585-3880 for democrats, and 202-585-3882 for independences. president obama says, this is not my bill. i would like certain aspects to be stronger. it represents a bipartisan progress and recognizes there are good people on both sides of this issue.

we do not have to agree on everything, but we have to do ofething to stem the tide gun violence. this is from the huffington post this morning. gun background checks bill unworkable. calls the expanded background checks plan unworkable. he had been courted in hopes of producing a bipartisan bill. that fell apart. toomey rulednd pat out an offer on wednesday that extends background checks to the gun shows and internet sales and exams private person to person sales. many senators were not committee -- noncommittal on the proposal. the senator from mantegna -- montana said he would not comment until he saw be a legislative language. the senate has

caused by price and fever. the t-bill some democratic and republican lawmakers have hashed out a bipartisan solution on gun some democratic and republican lawmakers have passed out a bipartisan solution on gun control. achieveohn boehner consensus among republicans, it could reestablish them as a dealmaker and a central figure on the upcoming legislative debates and helping the house move on more comfortable political and policy grounds. we would like to hear your views on gun control legislation. we would like to begin with the republican in kansas. good morning.

i am interested in the gun control going through. missed they have s thathat we have border meet garden and cheks. garding and checks. we are having people go back and forth to canada and mexico and everywhere coming in from immigration. i notice that has been already mentioned by a newspaper, although they asked me not to talk about that in calling you. host: when it comes to the gun control debate, what would you like to see done? caller: i would like to see boy george washington would say. i am speaking with his voice

today. guns that are valuable for do not have to be because of mass destruction. i think the same thing should apply to any man or any woman who calls themselves a hunter. host: we will leave it there and in ohio, a democrat. caller: thank you. i would like to make a comment about that, but i would not do that right now. votes against this cloture bill should be voted out

of office. they are not doing what they should be doing in congress. he is paranoid schizophrenics save the government should take all of their guns should not have guns and that is the mentality they have. thank you very much. , ohio.aul in cincinnati caller: thank you for taking my call. i heard about the proper procedure of going through when change anlike to amendment, such as the second amendment. i would like to come up with an answer and a helpful answer on how to prevent what happened at sandy hook. i am concerned about following the correct procedures the a -- of our country's laws.

this is notay to do just a meeting in the senate. that is my comments. forpe something will help poor kids to stay protected. host: are you a gun owner jim caller: -- gun owner? i am.: yes, host: do you have to go through a background check? yes i did. i did not mind the background check. approach in trying to keep the second amendment intact, following the current procedures, and can be proper

protection for the kids, especially with this last shooting incidents, i do not have the solution and how we go about doing that. i do not see the things being talked about now will protect the kids. you think about the nra solution? not have a comment. i have not followed dissolution closely enough to have a comment on it. host: this is from the daily news. all for nothing. congress sells out with soft done deal. inside, a two page spread. four months after the devastation in connecticut, a gun control compromise announced wednesday would expand that control -- the background checks, but achieved little else. he ban on assault weapons appears lost.

high-capacity magazines remain unaddressed. gun sales between individuals can continue without government review. governor cuomo said it is unbelievable this congress is going to fundamentally fail to act on this societal scorched. been captive to extremists and there is no clear proof than this. is a co-oe manchin sponsor of the background check amendment. here is a little bit of what he had to say yesterday. [video clip] we have to protect legal gun owners like myself, who chairs the second amendment. we have done that also. today is the start of a healthy debate.

hopefully, passing these common- sense measures and the president signing into law. we have common sense, we have nonsense and we have a gun sense. newtownhe events at chains us all. it changed, communities, communitiesnewtown changed us all. changedvents at newtown u s all. nobody with a good conscience can sit by and not try to prevent a kid like that from happening again. host: that to your calls on today's gun control debate. alan in arizona, republican. hi, allen. the accountability

office has already stated that out of the 15,000 people who have been arrested who are criminals since the obama only 44 haven, actually gone to jail. that is an alarming figure that is not takingtion care of locking up criminals. that is the first thing. canada was taken on your program a couple of months ago. they dropped collecting the information because it is useless and a waste of money. .o answer one question i do not own a gun. i have never owned one.

in the legislation, they should .tudy and create something if you look at all of the people who have done these mass shootings, we have had enough warnings that they were all mentally sick. that is the biggest thing. it is for legislatures to create another database to go through all of these efforts. the laws that are on the books are fine. host: i will leave it there. thanks for calling in. usa today this morning. the senate appears to be ready to move on guns. the first time in years,

gun-control advocates may have some legislative victories over the next few days. nearly four months after the tragedy at sandy hook elementary and two decades since he last gun control law was signed, the senate is poised to take up a gun bill that expands background checks and crackdown on straw purchases of fire arms. he senate-passed to clear a 60 vote threshold to end a threatened filibuster by conservative republicans. that seems more likely wednesday after a bipartisan deal to extend background checks for most commercial gun sales. this is called the article concludes. even if senate majority leader harry reid has the votes to overcome a filibuster, the vote will take time. he said we will have amendments

on this. i do not know if we will finish it next week. onhave gotten several tweets this issue. this is from an individual. , second no depressed guns for families of depressed. third, re-education camps. many taking prescriptions for depression foreign society maybe unfairly denied. alleviation and educating kids that killing is wrong. here is tom. he says background checks are not done control. they protect our second amendment rights from those who abuse the second amendment. dianne, you are on "washington journal."

caller: good morning. how are you? i was watching the television. we are moving in the right direction. the proud of the senate and gop moving in that direction. , i am fromtoomey the midwest. i was born on the border in ohio. to westto travel virginia when i was a little westover to wheeling, virginia long before the bridge fell. i really think what has happened with all our other politics is moving in the right

direction. the president has been instrumental and so has vice president biden. these families coming from newtown to the president the other day. one woman is extremely inspirational. she works with connecticut legislators. i am proud of these people over there. i have a granddaughter and i have a son. do you like what the senators came up with yesterday? caller: absolutely. i have seen the turnaround with years ago when he was going to run for president. i see a different candor with

.im and a commonality there is no reason anyone should have their arms taken away. i am for the second amendment. the president is for the second amendment. backgroundo the checks and they should be extensive. i agree with that. host: we will leave it there. we appreciate your calling and we look forward to hearing from you in 30 days. philr independent line is from oklahoma. good morning, phil. in realhis country is bad shape. jobs andeople without people in dire need of help.

we talk about these kids. it is a sad thing when things like that happen. we have kids in this country going to bed at night hungry. senate working really hard to pass a bill so they can pass a bill that has already been passed. i do not understand the program. they need to get their colleagues together and talk it over. host: that was phil in oklahoma. that wasn article posted yesterday. schumerefused to have and gun deal presser. public support for the bill hinged on not having to stand next to charles schumer of new york.

the background check bill would close the gun show who pulled and is officially co-sponsored manchin, toomey. manchin appeared at the news conference. mark kirk and schumer agreed not to appear to provide cover. senate will take up a bill setting broad new gun rules. the senate compromise. the background check deal closes loopholes for internet sales and gun shows and exams friends and neighbors transactions. allows state concealed carry lieu of background

checks and specifies that medical privacy laws to not apply to mental health records in the background check the database and reduces the background check turn around time from three days to two days. in four years, it would be reduced to one day. those are some highlights to the amendment.mey at 11:00 a.m. this morning beach -- this morning the senate will be voting on a cloture move. missouri.n she is a republican and you are on "washington journal." caller: the language is so broad. what is mentally ill? no one has to find that. we do not know what they are

going to look at and how they are going to look at that. it could be anything from someone who has gone too brief counseling all the way up. we need to walk -- anyone who counseling allief the way up. we need to walk carefully. i am tired of this kind of major issue on our rights being rammed through our senate and our contours. host: a tweet. has sold out. why have dinner with gop senators constructive. president obama enjoyed a constructive and wide ranging discussion over dinner with republican senators on wednesday

night, a white house official said. the statement put out by the thanksouse said obama senator john isakson for bringing the group to dinner, which included a green salad, stake, and sauteed vegetables. dinnera discussion at with the president and gop colleagues, mike crapo tweeted. this was the second closed door dinner between the president and senate republicans. missouri. good morning, rose. morning.ood

my comment was there is such broad language. there is no definition of mentally ill. what does that mean? it could mean someone who has gone to grief counseling all the way up to violent criminal. this is not about guns. it is about our liberty. we cannot be giving our liberty away. for ourit is wrong congress and senate to run a bill through without deliberating on them, putting it out for the public to look at to see all of the language. here in missouri, the transfer language that senator schumer wants to put in his so meticulous that somebody who would loan their gun out to someone to use for a day could eventually be deemed a felon.

people to know what our are voting on. that is my comments. host: are you a gun owner and? -- bank yes, my family does. i do not personally own a gun. host: here is what the national rifle association said. the spending that context at gun shows will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. no background check would have presented -- prevented the tragedy is in newtown, aurora, or tucson. korte's story. schedules vote to break a

gop hold on gun bills. certain types of assault weapons. those are some of the other amendments that could be considered in this legislation. in, do not be fooled. the rich and elite wants us to disarm. this will force wackos not to seek medical advice. chicago, lady was in where she gave the speech on the gun issue. for me, this is personal, is the headline. terry is in maryland on our democrats' line.

come from a unique perspective. i grew up in washington, d.c. one of the main problems with the argument is the fact that you half the progress of gun have a place where gun laws are not as strict. if all of the strict laws are passed, i am great with that. everyone who passes these laws should be able to get concealed weapons and carry them in states. the people who are being good citizens get nothing. they just get extra stress when they buy firearms. district has some of

the strictest gun laws in america. what the believe gentleman said. it does not protect the schools. all of the inner-city schools already have offices in them. i do not understand why these suburban schools feel like we are not in a bad neighborhood so we do not need to have security. they should have known that in columbine. the gun was bought in a city where i was living. we have to have security in schools. we have to have better locks' and bulletproof glass. have you ever been a gun owner?

caller: yes. i am not concealing in maryland. i am concealing in maryland. in maryland, you have to have permission to be able to conceal. the common person cannot conceal a weapon. host: you mentioned you grew up in the inner city. handgun laws were strict. you are not allowed to have one. prevalent in your neighborhood? host: -- theer: we are talking about mid-1980's when crack was on the streets. guns were all over. district heights maryland

is on the border of washington, d.c. this is a week where lots of legislative issues are swirling about. another issue is that the president has issued his budget. there are three federal budget is proposed. the senate has passed one. the house has passed one. and now the president has introduced his. we will be talking about those issues a little later in the program. chart from the washington times. it details with the money goes. it looks at three different budget outlines. where the money is raised. $1.40 trillion is raised in individual income taxes.

taxes, $739ity billion. to learn to $24 billion. total revenue, $3 trillion. $3.80 trillion. defense takes $618 billion. defense takes $624 billion. $860 billion goes to social security. medicare takes $524 billion. medicare takes another $304 billion. $223est on the debt, billion. when you look at three different budgets that have passed, you can see president obama's budget, total spending

over the next 10 years, $46.50 trillion. the same as the democrats, $41.70 trillion. $41.70 trillion. total revenue over 10 years, 41.2 trillion for the house. -- projected federal 19.0 trillion. those are some of the top line figures on the budget. we will try to break those down as we go through this morning's show. right now, we are taking your calls on the gun-control bill.

i think too much of the the misuse of the issue of gun violence for gun making and we are whole issue is too complicated as far as gun control. they should pass it to the police department and let them handle it. he will have to get a permit from the police department. they are the ones who have all of the insight as far as trouble from a person who is trying to seek a gun or who has problems of this nature. host: today, one of the big hearings on capitol hill, the acting white house budget director will be at the budget committee to talk about the

president's proposal. that will be at 10:00 a.m. today. here is an article from the washington post. the postal service backed away saturday mail delivery in august, bowling to bipartisan congressional opposition that the postmaster -- postmaster ago he said two months had the authority to do. is in the washington post. it was in the new york times. former representative anthony wiener may join the major's rates in new york city. in new york city.

from the washington times, battle rages near damascus as john kerry meets rebel leaders. president assad's troops battled in the oscars of damascus and press on with a counter-offensive against opposition fighters in the south to prevent their advance into the capital. from texas on our republican line. thanks for holding. what is your opinion on this gun control debate? the event at luntz -- lone star college yesterday makes all this gun control talk moot. host: in arizona, a democrat.

to respondould like to those screaming that this legislation violates the second amendment. you do not have an unlimited right to carry any weapon anywhere you want. we can limit who can own guns and what guns they have. we can say there are certain types of weapons you cannot have. are completelyks constitutional. that argument is false. the woman who called about the stabbing incident saying that makes this moot, might point out that none of these people died. guns kill people and they enable people to kill more people more efficiently than a knife would. host: borden in arizona. some political this morning --

gordon in arizona. this morning. rand paul speaks at howard university, one of the nation's oldest black schools. he insisted under questioning that he have in the -- has never of the in his support 1964 civil rights act after he questioned the act in a televised interview. the republican questions or disputes civil rights. i have never wavered in my support of civil rights or the civil rights act. he added he does question some of the ramifications of the act on business. overall, the students were unmoved by the kentucky senator's plea to give the gop a chance. he just focused on the past rather than tell us what the party will do for us now. i need to know what they have in store for my future. that is from politico this

morning. this is from the hill. toator barbara mikulski ignore sequester. house but is ignoring the sequester cuts in current law. a crafty bills at the one. -- $1.05 trillion level set by obama and senate budgets, senate appropriations committee chairwoman barbara mikulski is setting the stage for a showdown with the house, which intends to use -- about this gun debate? caller: there are plenty of state and local laws on the books. criminals will always be able to get guns. a kid who kills his mother and

breaks into a gun cabinet can always have a gun. it is terrible descendant is getting involved in a tragedy to create new laws. i do not think anyone -- anything can be done about a nut who can get things done anyway. ?ost: do you own a gun what was the process in the massachusetts? caller: it is a tough state. you have to deal with whatever town you are in, local police. you have should state laws in massachusetts. that does not stop people from killing other people. it happens all the time. alexandria, virginia. on thee your thoughts republican line. the main thing we are

talking about a major policy is to really make an effort to detaching motion from it. i do not think that is happening in the current the state. i agree with the third provision, which talks about trying to find the root cause of violence. nationalrelief a database will help prevent things like this from happening. it will have the effect of having laws already on the books discourage people from pursuing gun ownership. the idea that people can or should own guns would diminish over time, which would be an effective dissolution of the second amendment right. there is a bit of emotionalism going on in this discoursere rational should be happening.

-- herere are the front is the front page of the financial times this morning. lagarde warns of new crisis. her remarks yesterday highlighted the dominant trend in the global economy in which the emerging economy expands rapidly as advanced countries hews ever more aggressive monetary policy to kickstart growth. full front-page article in the financial times in case you are interested. finally, once again in the senate, the senate comes in at 9:30 today. at 11:00 a.m., they are expected gunote on cloture to the control act.

the first amendment will be the oomey gun control amendments. if they get 60 votes, they will move on to debate. we have representative kevin brady, chairman of the joint economic committee, will be talking about some of the issues we have been talking about. as well as hakeem jeffries, democrat from new york. he is a member of the judiciary and budget committee. after that, gregory korte from usa today. we will return to our gun control debate and will be right back with kevin brady.

>> saturday, book tv is live with panels throughout the day on april 13. 11:00, the changing landscape of cities. america's ongoing activity in afghanistan. p.m., and politics in america. the annapolis boat festival live saturday, part of book tv weekend on c-span -- bok festival live saturday on book tv weekend on c-span 2. >> panels from the organization of american historians. the meeting starts with a look at the history of black freedom movement.

it starts with your questions at 11:00 p.m. -- and 8:00 a.m.. 11:00 a.m. american life, saturday starting -- 9:30 a.m. on american history tv. >> "washington journal" continues. member ofn brady is a the ways and means subcommittee. i want to start we left off in our last segment, with the gun control debate. are you a gun hoe -- a gun owner own?- gun am not. i made that choice. we have a sophisticated handgun

with this approach. it is a safe environment. i live at home in montgomery county. i worked up here in washington, d.c., which is a gun free community, which says so by law. i feel so much safer in texas than nine to working here in washington. i feel so much safer in texas than i do working here in washington king host -- here in washington. storyyou have a personal related to guns. what happens when you are 12 years old? a gentleman threatens my father and our family. my mother had to learn to use a gun for safety. when the trial began, this

gentleman in the courtroom shot and killed my father. the judge survived. i was 12 at the time. my mother raised five of a spy herself. we know the impact of gun violence on families -- my mother raised five of us by herself. way: does this affect the you feel about his background checks? guest: i do not know the pain of losing a child. i know the opposite of that, losing a parent. they stoposals, will another shooting in a school or a movies -- a movie theater or of a congresswoman? in the congressional rush to do

something, it always -- it often results in doing something that does not work. like ours, we believe we have strong second amendment rights. host: the effort to negotiate regarding the president's budget. though far from perfect, the budget represents the best hope of replacing sequestration with a bipartisan deficit-reduction deal before the federal government is the statutory borrowing limit in the late summer and before congress is paralyzed by the politics of the 2014 elections. mr. l. obama's offering does not purport to balance the budget within 10 years without new tax croesus. -- tax increases.

planis good since the gop would accomplish that through excessive domestic spending cuts falling most heavily on america's least able to afford it. guest: it is like arriving at the gate after the flight has already left. i am not sure it matters. , does this help us avoid a downgrade of of a credit rating. i do not think it does. is it think it does do all first starting points to begin a real discussion on how you face medicare for the long term. that is critical to our investors in america. it is critical for our financial future. the president has taken baby steps, not nearly enough to save those important programs. also included some new

taxes in his budget proposal. guest: those are dead on arrival. that part of balancing the budget is over. strong income growth and spending strength is the key. i think the president knows that. he thing that worries me is on savingeem to focus social security and medicare for their own sake. makes it harder to save them. it is the wrong direction. republicane house proposal, some of the savings you have proposed, $1.80 trillion is savings from repeal of the health-care law passed in 2009. is that going to be repealed?

makes thatpresident difficult to happen. we want the budget to reflect our values. if you talk to mainstream businesses, the president's health care law will drive up the cost of health care. it is a draft of the economy today. this is the weakest economic recovery in 70 years. the road blocks that businesses talk about, the higher taxes, the new health care law. we are concerned about the flood of new regulations. not seek income growth. balancing the budget is critical for us to get on a firm financial footing. about tax reform. is that active right now on capitol hill?

guest: it is. tax reform is alive and real. of reform have been released. fts of reform have been released. kemp has moved real tax reform out of our committee this year. portman had some comments for the business community. he said get on board with this and stop trying to protect your loopholes. businesses, like families, have said enough is enough. this current code has not been overhauled in a generation and

it needs to change. i chaired the energy working group. there has been discussion of key provisions that are critical in developing jobs in the energy sector. i since the business community being one of the driver is of fundamental reform. host: when you see a bill coming out of the committee? -- see and this summer jim do you see it this summer? the draft has been well received. it is a lot of work and it is complex. politically, it is always

difficult. you have to put the reform bills on the floor and move it down the field. hopefully, the president will join us and stay at the table. host: a few more issues. this is from politico. greg walden brakes with party on chained cpi. during an interview on cnn, walden said obama was trying to balance his budget on the backs of seniors with the plan, which would change the way social security cost-of-living adjustments are calculated. most lawmakers in washington know we can save social security once and for all this afternoon. everyone knows we have to a take

over time, raise the eligibility the benefitssure are calculated on a true cost of living rather than wages. we do those two things and we saying that program. the bigger challenge his on medicare. that is why republicans focus more on the medicare side of things. that is one of the biggest drivers long term. host: do you support chained cpi? think there is a better way to focus on workers than chained cpi. localon cigarettes or energy workers. security andal medicare for its own sake. host: the other issue is immigration. what are your thoughts?

issue is long overdue. all i know is what i read. we have not seen the proposal to move forward. we need to close the back door of illegal immigration so we can keep open the front door of legal immigration. you need a workforce that is flexible and can move and flow with the economy for the next 100 years. believe citizenship should be reserved for those who come to the front door with legal immigration. aalso believe there should be illegaly for immigration with those who try to enter through the back door car promptly returned. host: representative kevin brady is our guest.

are ourom maine, you first caller. caller: timothy mcveigh did not have a knife. he had killed 165 people and injured over 800. the 9/11 hijackers did not have guns. when you look at those things come look how much damage you can do without using a gun. people to not talk about the schoolions that all the shooters are taking. thatnk that has -- i think is the problem. i have been on some of those

medications. i know what they can do to your mind. they work on your mind. you take the mind of a child that is just developing and you put those drugs and you do not know what it will do to them. culture ofave a violence in america. it does not come from our hunting families. it is a broader issue than that. this has become clear in newtown, colorado, the shooting with gabrielle giffords. we need to focus on strict gun laws. our mentale gaps in health system. we should focus on how we can

make sure -- how can we help people that are heading down this path with mental illness? give them some help before this occurs. carolina.ld in north caller: good morning. this is my second time calling. timenk they are wasting passing a gun law bill. they need to focus more on jobs . those children got killed. i think that a tragedy is going to happen. the stop the punishment of the kids. you suspend them for getting in fights. that is not helping anything.

i mean, a lot of bullying going on. -- a tragedyry happens. want to add another bill or make it hard for people who deserve to have a gun not to get one. guest: two thoughts. , talk to our local teachers elementary and they think of all the options. having local security might even deterred somebody from choosing a school in which to do -- i don't understand somebody who would walk into a school and

shoot will children. i do not understand that. the economy ought to be the focus of this congress. .e have a big growth gap .e are missing 4 million jobs that should be our focus. host: representative wilson was on the floor yesterday with a chart that said 453 days and no jobs bills has been passed by this congress. is there a jobs bill that can motivate the congress? guest: the house has passed more bills toeparate jobs get people back to work.

any votes in the senate. the growth gap that we have today -- listen to the businesses that want to hire. there is a fear of new taxes. the amount of regulation is almost unprecedented. a bigger message is, will washington get its financial house in order? unless we address those roadblocks, we can have a stronger economy and we can prove the experts wrong that think the economy in america it is permanently slowed. we have to address those issues. host: how did you look at the

current anemia of economic growth and the stock market's? federalwo words -- reserve. pumped a lot of money into the company. $400.ecovery is merely the difference is one of the drivers on why this economy has not revved back up. until we address what is happening in the economy, i do not think we will see that job growth. morning.ood what you are doing is talking out of both sides of your mouth.

said the doke and not like that. the house andd the senate and the presidency. y'all had a surplus. you are talking about paying for hings -- to pay for this debt that we have left our kids with these wars and medicare part b. it is not a single program that you have put into play such as medicare, medicaid, social security to help the american people. regulation.ring up regulation is not stopping wall street. host: are you referring to

republicans or congress in general? he is gone. guest: he was just getting on a roll. tax thisthink you can country back to a balanced budget. would you be willing to double your taxes? the answer would be no. we still will be running a deficit in this nation. you have to have much stronger economy than we have today. you have to restrain spending and look at common-sense ways to save social security. that is the balance. that is how we get our financial house in order. drag on thea

economy. host: the president introduced his budget yesterday. here he is at the white house. [video clip] i do not believe all these ideas are optimal, but i'm willing to except them as part of a compromise if they contain protections for the most vulnerable americans. go hand inms have to hand with reforming our tax code so the wealthiest individuals cannot keep taking advantage of deductions that most americans do not get. that is the bottom line. there is no excuse to keep these loopholes open.

they do not grow our economy. they do not put people back to work. if anyone thinks i will finish the job of deficit reduction through spending cuts alone, they should think again. i have already met republicans more than halfway. i hope republicans will demonstrate the art as serious about the deficits adn debt as they claim to be. guest: i would love to see the president send over a tax reform proposal. the clock is ticking. we also believe we should close loopholes in the tax hold.

we feel we should lower tax rates for everybody. that's probably the main difference between us and the president. i do not see significant reforms in the president's budget on medicare. a seconde faced downgrade of our credit rating if we do not this summer come together on a real plan for long-term financial stability. the clock is ticking. this do you foresee summer at the congress passing a budget and the president signing one? guest: i do not. how weferent visions of

move the country forward. with:ee if the present social security and medicare to save them rather than tie them to extraneous tax increases, i think we could come up with a plan that puts us on the right path for the long term. do you see another continuing resolution? guest: i hope not. this is no way to run a railroad. we get stuck in budgets from .our, five years ago as puttingarly such together the budget was done without a lot of drama and on

time. the houseebt ceiling, will move now to put its priority in place. we will move now early to reassure people that america will pay its debts. we are serious about tackling our problems. affected sequestration your district? guest: it has not. people laugh when you talk government0-pound being forced to lose 10 pounds. closing local air-traffic towers. they think it is a small step in

the right direction. host: was it a political victory for republicans? guest: it helped reassure americans that we were serious about making some small but important steps in the right lowerion, walking those levels in was important -- locking those lower levels in was import. i believe we have the political courage to get this done. we have laid out courageous steps on medicare and medicaid to solve those. the president is willing to take some small steps towards us. host: wallace is a republican in dallas.

caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. police officer and i collect revolvers. my comment for the representative is that i have been leery when the government starts talking about protecting my rights by passing another bill or law. i have seen an erosion of our second amendment rights. i believe this is what the democrats have wanted all along, the closing of the so-called gun show loophole. that was basically all i had was comment.

guest: criminals do not buy their guns at gun shows. they steal them. they get others to buy them for them and to give them illegally. we have strong laws ought on the -- on the books but they are not being enforced. .rosecutions in the dozens i do not think we will see what we hope is to keep those guns illegally from those who cannot own them. host: should background checks be expanded? guest: they are.

gunsnly ones who can and are those that are adding to collections or private sales. accord with% are in that background check. gunsnals do not buy through the legal process. from we have a tweet darrell. guest: there has to be strong economic growth to generate revenue. if our economy last year was back up to where it was before our deficit hit, would have been cut in half. if we get the economy going again, you create a bunch of jobs in the process.

host: would you be open to when the tax increases at this point? guest: i do not see the purpose for them. a huge tax increase already in pocket.ident's' none of the taxes went to deficit reduction. that is the problem. we have a tweet from beverly. guest: absolutely not. grow withcontinue to our young people. some are choosing to work because they are healthier.

you keep social security available at 62. it is not a major change. we have social security at 67 today. billy in ohio. democrat.t a proud i'm sitting here listening to congress entertaining a background checks. we had a border patrol agent killed with guns that were confiscated by the dea or the atf. congress should turn their checks back again because you are not doing your job. what do you say on that? guest: this is been a number of

troubling instances we have seen in this administration. was and furious irresponsible program. of asulted in the death federal agent. we have tried to get to the bottom of that. we havebeen stalled -- been stonewalled along the way. if they could be open and honest about the program and why it occurred. we still want to get to the bottom of this issue not just for the country but for the family of the slain agent. host: we have a tweet from tom. guest: i do. noving a much simpler tax,

all thethan 25% -- reform we're doing today is a great step in the right direction. if you wanted to focus on taxingption, versus people's wages and hard work, i think that would be a long-term solution. it is pretty bold. we have a lot of people that are not convinced that is the right approach. we will continue to educate lawmakers. host: how is speaker bannered doing in regard to the leadership -- how the speaker boehner doing? guest: well. he is working with a lot of new lawmakers, to get their input in

the strategies and to find a way where we can lead with 218 votes in the house. battle whichtion funding forand the the rest of the year is a good indicator of his leadership. host: you hear officials say, we have to cut here because the law says so. do these cabinets have flexibility in how they spend their money? guest: of course they do. they choose when to have flexibility. they chose not to with the sequester. health and human services programan $8 billion

that didn't exist. the money wasn't there. a hugete house has flexibilities about these cuts. host: we have a tweet from peepie. guest: that is a bumper sticker and is not accurate. social security disability goes bankrupt in four years. medicare is a critical program, and the clock is clicking. the only action that jeopardize his medicare and social security is to continue to ignore the financial trouble those programs are in. it will take democrats and republicans.

host: dave from new york. myller: first off, condolences and prayers go out to the people in connecticut. that was terrible. i do not understand. i have been a safety instructor for over 20 years. couple to buy a gun the months ago for my granddaughter. they put me on hold. days and theyhree never called back. the sporting goods store sends you an envelope and three years i still not have heard anything back. it is a farce.

go, there'sandguns ago still hand written in ledgers -- they are not computerized. even if you close every gun manufacturer, dealership, you'll never stop criminals from getting handguns. host: we believe that there. guest: the plight has been well made -- the point has been well made. banave had a band before -- befgo ore. violence is very high and sometimes higher than the rest of the country. government tends to punish those .ho did not break the law

it is a bigger issue than the same old political laws. tweet from jack hutton. there was an article this morning. guest: i do. look at the role of coverage -- of government that we do not need to play. cutting wasteful spending and cutting assets the government no longer needs. this makes good sense. look at other countries. this is one of the behaviors that they took, to privatize the practices that government should

not bein, getting rid of the properties that the government does not use. host: burt. caller: thank you for taking my call. question about a term. what happened to the term lockbox? money in a social security fund body keeps getting raided. another example is the post office. the post office would be in pretty good position if the government would stop raiding their balance. if you would take the money and spend it for what you get it from sociall borrow security to pay this bill then

we will put it back again later on." like that, household i would never get my mortgage or utilities or car loans paid. much.burt, thank you very needed a lot box in this country about 30 years ago. the law was changed and congress and presidents began dipping in. $150ica had to borrow billion last year from investors just to pay our social security and to make sure our seniors got the benefits they worked so hard for this year, next year. socialever see --

security will never see a surplus unless we take some steps for the long haul. why doesn't the government used the money they collect for specific purposes. for maintaining our harbors and waterways. those moneys get diverted to other places. -- theght is right on point is right on target. aboutwe have some tweets the post office. guest: congress should stay out of the approach to allow the

postal service to make itself solvent. if can't be afforded, then it can be afforded. but the postal service needs to take tough steps. we need to get out of the way to allow them to do that. i worry that we continue to metal and problem the problem. host: pat, buffalo. democrat. go ahead. caller: representative, if they are worried about the cost of medicare why do we still have the non-negotiable clause in there about pharmaceuticals? number two, they talk about in the last session, they tried to keep the unemployment rate up because it was the best way to eat obama. beat obama.heir -- and all of the job proposals was to relax regulations.

according to economist, only 0.4% it has on unemployment. there were no jobs in this. and if there were any jobs, if the relaxed rules were passed, that it would be years down the line. so, i don't think they have any interesting jobs. yeah, i heard a lot of conspiracy theories that don't make sense. that would be one of them. everybody is rooting for the economy to get at it. it is our communities, our neighborhoods, and sometimes our families who struggle to find jobs. if you look today, we have millions of people who just have given up their a lot of young people, a lot of folks in their prime who have just given up looking for work. think republican, democrat, libertarian, i don't care who you are, i think everyone wants to see a much stronger economy.

america has today this very weak economy. on your first point, the reason the non-negotiable clause in ,heir is not the right that way it is because the government itself in the studies show it will not save any money. wouldly way that program save dollars is if it restricted the drugs that seniors could get -- that is a mistake -- and that limits where they can get them, they could not get them in local pharmacies -- another mistake. the government recognizes those are poor choices for seniors. we need to have the best choice of life-saving drugs and to be able to get it locally and conveniently, that is why negotiating drug prices sounds great as a hombre sticker answer, but it does not work, does not save money, is not good for the seniors. final question -- what is the status of paul ryan's's

medicare 55 and under proposal and what is your view on it? hope to take reforms -- i stepped over to take the health subcommittee of ways and means this year, and our first priority is to solve how we reimburse our doctors through medicare this year, which is a big challenge. it could be done. technically we want to take the first steps toward structural reform. emerson ryan's proposal we think is the right approach, so we are hopeful we can actually translate from the concept to the legislation that we begin debating, moving, considering. again, the clock is ticking. host: who is the ranking member? guest: jimmy turner -- jim mcdermott. inhave tried to make approach--on how to improve medicare. these are emotional issues. i still think there is a way to

move forward. host: were presented of kevin brady thomas chairman of joint economic committee, numbers of weight -- member of ways and means committee. coming up next come another member of congress, a question -- fresh june -- freshman, hakeem jeffries. and then we will return to specifically the background check gun control debate issue with gregory cordy from "usa today." but first, a news update. >> more on the gun debate issue. federal authorities say the connecticut gunshot that legally sold weapons used in the newtown school shootings lost its federal firearms license after the december massacre. alcohol, tobacco, and firearms and explosives found hundreds of violations at riverview gun sale in east windsor, including selling firearms without background checks and leading a felon by ammunition.

turning to the situation on the korean peninsula, a north korean agency called the committee for the peaceful reunification of the fatherland am in a statement released earlier, says the country has "powerful striking means" on standby for a launch them adding that it has entered coordinates for targets. but it is not explaining what it means. analysts don't leave north korea will stage an attack similar to the one that started the korean war in 1950, but there are concerns that animosity could spark a skirmish that could escalate into a serious conflict. whowhile, an army chaplain the white house says braved " withering enemy fire" to provide medical aid and comfort to fellow soldiers during the korean war is receiving the medal of honor more than 60 years after his death. president obama will award the nation's highest military honor to captain capon at the white house ceremony today. 1950, the battle in

captain stayed with the wounded troops, knowing he probably be captured by the chinese, and he led prayers at the risk of punishment. the kansas-born roman catholic priest died a prisoner of war at age 35. members of his family are expected to attend the white house ceremony. c-span is covering the event. and those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. saturday on american history tv, a chance to weigh in like on emancipation and civil rights, and the role of corporations in american life. panels from the organization of american historians annual meeting from san francisco. starting at 9:30 a.m. easter with the history of black freedom movement, followed by your questions live at 11:00 for stanford for faster clayborne carson and then at noon, the bait on the role of american corporations -- corporations on american life. life, saturday

starting at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span three's american history tv. at age 11, she lived with her favorite uncle james buchanan. years later, he becomes president, and because he is unmarried she serves as the white house hostess. the first to be called "first lady" on a regular basis and is so popular she sets trends in clothing and children and ships were named after her. meet harriet lane. we will look at her life and her predecessor, along with your comments. first ladies, monday night live at 9:00 a.m. eastern on c-span and c-span three and also on c- span radio and www.c-span.org. "washington journal" continues. host: i want to introduce you to representative hakeem jeffries, a freshman member, a democrat from new york. representative jeffries, where is your district? guest: eighth congressional

district, largely anchored in brooklyn, downtown brooklyn neighborhoods like bedford stuyvesant, linden hills, east new york, and then several neighborhoods in the southern part of brooklyn that were hit hard by superstorm sandy, including on the island, brighton beach, seagate, manhattan beach, and then a few neighborhoods in queens, in and around jamaica bay, howard beach, and ozone park area host: you took of the office town seat? guest: formally represented in large measures by him the previous 30 years. anthony wiener is considering running for mayor of your hometown. what do you think? guest: i certainly think he would add some flavor to the race. he had a track record of accomplishment. i believe he served in congress for 14 years and prior to that, an additional amount of time in the city council. everyone is entitled to a second chance, i believe in that.

i think we are a compassionate people. he should have an opportunity to present himself throughout the democratic process to the extent he makes the determination to run. host: you serve on the budget and judiciary committees. did you request them? what did you request? express and interest on serving on both the judiciary and the budget committee, both of which i think are critical to the people that i represent back at home. with respect to judiciary, for instance, with jurisdiction over comprehensive immigration reform as well as the gun violence prevention debate playing itself out here in congress, those are two critical issues. an extremely diverse district. african-americans, caribbean americans, south asians, latinos, russian speaking jewish immigrants, this is a very important issue when it comes to -- in terms of fixing the broken immigration system. also a district where many

people have been at it in mind for a significant period of time by gun violence, in ways robbing us of our children on a regular basis. and we've got to act in order to minimize the gun violence in the congressional district ever- present, new york city new york city, and across the country. host: front page of one of your hometown newspapers this morning -- "all for nothing." congress sells out with soft gun deal. a full two-page spread. of course i lost my place. we got a compromise blessed it with you think what senators up with?d toomey came guest: it was a step in the right direction. i certainly support universal background check. this will be less universal, more comprehensive in nature. the ground checks are effective year since 1994, when they were first put in place on a nationwide basis, more than 1.9

million people had been denied guns because of a background check that revealed them to have a felonious record, domestic violence in their past, orders of protection against them. but 40% of the people who purchase guns have been exempted from the background check requirements because of the gun show loophole, internet sales, and things of that nature. the deal that had been negotiated between the two senators would largely closed the loophole. not completely, but significantly in a way that would make a difference. host: another issue i want to put on the table before we go to calls, from another one of your hometown newspapers, "the new york times." lead story -- "obama budget would old democratic party pillars." new budgetbama's opened a debate on what it means to be a progressive democrat in the age of austerity and defined him as a

president willing to take on two pillars of his party -- medicare and social security the created by democratic presidents. guest: there is a lot to like in the budget that has been presented by the president. $75 billion in investment in early childhood education, $50 billion in the intermediate term to be invested in transportation and infrastructure. raising the minimum wage to nine dollars an hour among closing corporate loopholes. so these are significant steps in the right direction, consistent with the views of many in the democratic party of what to do for our economy. as it relates to change cpi, of course the president indicated in december he understood it was a very unpopular measure with members of his own party. for good reason. i am very concerned about the proposal. we will hear from the treasury secretary early this week at a

committee hearing. i am looking forward to questioning the secretary, getting a real sense as to why the president believes change cbiz writes of the country. i think the date is good for democracy because we have real economic problems and we have to figure out the most appropriate way to confront the problems. i do reject the budget that has been put forth by the house gop, which would largely balanced the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable in our society -- children, women, working families, senior citizens, and the middle class, dramatically/ -- slash tax rates and cut spending. and irresponsible approach i believe, respectfully. i think the president would -- approach provides a framework for discussion. host: this is a bit of the president introducing his budget yesterday at the white house. [video clip] both agreed the rising cost --

cost of caring for an aging generation at the biggest driver. the truth is, for those like me who deeply believe in our social insurance programs think it is one of the core things our government needs to do. if we want to keep medicare working as well as it has, and we want to preserve the ironclad guarantee that medicare represents weird we are going to have to make some changes. but they don't have to be drastic ones. and instead of making drastic ones later, what we should be doing is making some manageable ones now. am proposing will strengthen medicare for future generations without undermining the ironclad guarantee that medicare represents. we will reduce our government's medicare bills by finding new ways to reduce the of health care. not by shifting the cost to seniors or the poor or families with disabilities. they are reforms that keep the

promise we made to our seniors, basic security that is rock solid and dependable and therefore you when -- if there for you when you needed. that is what my budget represents. host: congressman jeffreys, your reaction? guest: i think the president is correct that we should confront of overall health of our economy, including the reality of the social insurance programs such as medicare and social face in that they terms of the future. and with respect to medicare in particular, you do have an aging population. you do have an increasing number of senior citizens from the baby boom generation who will be living longer than seniors in the past. life expectancy has increased, that is a good thing. and you do have the potential that health care costs will increase over the long term, although i should note that

over the last several years the rate of growth of health care has been slow, which is a good thing. one of the reasons why many of should notthat we dramatically alter medicare, certainly in the way that the house of gop has proposed in terms of turning it into a voucher program in 10 years, but it is reasonable to consider some adjustments that can be made to medicare that don't adversely impact in a fascia raised. incredibly successful program. some adjustments perhaps can be made on the margins that extract efficiencies, but we should not alter the contract we have a our seniors who have earned these benefits by paying into the system over time. host: what do you think about upping the retirement age, for full participation in benefits? it is something that is a reasonable part of the discussion, although i do not necessarily supported.

i want to see what the impact will be on those seniors who got jobs that has impacted adversely on themselves throughout their lives -- blue- collar workers, factory workers, people who have been first responders or things of that nature who may not have the life expectancy of others. i represent a very diverse community, but many in the african-american and latino community don't have the same life expectancy as others, so they may have been participating and supporting social security through their fica tax payments all throughout their lives but not necessarily getting the benefit of are receiving those social security benefits back in return. if we raise the retirement age and their life expectancy is not as long. these are complex issues. again, a reasonable part of the discussion, but we've got to proceed with caution. host: finally, before we go to calls -- you are a freshman, you walk onto the budget process.

what do you think about the structure of the the process and the organization? guest: hopefully this year we are on a path toward seeing the budget process work in a way that it was intended to work, which is that the house gop in the majority present a budget that was rigorously debated, the ranking member of the budget committee but forward the democratic budget and a series of amendments to consider. we came out with a budget in the house that was supported by the republicans and not the democrats, but they are in the majority. a similar process took place in the senate when the senate democrats ultimately were able to vote on and pass a budget which represented their values. this week the president presented his vision for the future. and now, what should happen next after the hearings to evaluate the president's proposal, which would be underway over the next few days, we should come together with a conference committee of republicans and

democrats to negotiate the two versions of the budget that have been passed by each respective houses to see if we could come up with a final product, find common ground that does the business of the american people , so we can move away from government by continuing resolution. host: hakeem jeffries is our guest, freshman member from new york, a emigrant, graduate of suny binghamton, masters at georgetown and law degree at new york university. the first call comes from calvin in marion, indiana, independent line. caller: yes. that theunderstanding free trade, where they let the other countries bring products into our country, that is why our unemployment rate is so high, because there are no jobs to make products here anymore. especially with the auto companies. it used to be, by american, and

they are made in america, but nothing is ever manufactured here. , they havehina damage to the infrastructure of our economy, bringing him products that are not any good. i just wonder why the government can't, you know, have some kind of federal options where people can work for the government like i believe, back in sbr, they did all the things , the national parliament a bullet train that could keep the economy going. guest: thesentative? caller made an important point. i am not convinced that the free trade agreements that have been passed, starting with the north american free trade agreement, and the central american free trade agreement and moving onward, have been successful in

doing what was promised, which is essentially to increase, of course, economic growth which should then result in an increase in jobs for americans. there have been credible reports of significant job loss in manufacturing and other sectors, presumably as a result of these free trade agreements. i, before we move forward, would like to see an examination of the evidence of whether these free trade agreements have in fact work to increase economic they had costher americans jobs, and if that is the case, we've got to proceed with extreme caution before moving forward in this direction. host: mark is in melbourne, florida. republican line. caller: how're you doing question mark my my comment is did ithe gun legislation agree with universal background checks with limiting assault

weapons and limiting magazine size. when people say that felons are going to commit crimes anyway -- mentally ill people, and do they also not want us to have police officers question mark it as a preventive measure to keep violence down and it makes absolutely no sense to say just because somebody is going to commit a crime him and he can get a gun illegally, we should not have the measures. i think we should. host: congressman? guest: that was a very reasonable observation and consistent with what the american people feel, particularly as it relates to the issue of universal background check, over 90% of americans, including strong support among republicans and an array members. it is a common sense measure to help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and others who would do us harm. the mentally ill, those with a history of domestic violence. people who have given their --

people who, given their background, indicates we should be very concerned about them having a gun because of the possibility they could use it in the commission of a crime. as it relates to the assault weapons ban as well as limiting high-capacity magazine clips, i don't think there is any real justification to having military-style assault weapons in the hands of those who need to hunt or others. we should allow for a robust second amendment, 400 and four portman and things of that nature, the supreme court -- four hunters and sportsmen, things of that nature. if you limit high-capacity ammunition clips to 10, which has been proposed by the president, while you may not prevent the type of massacres we have seen in arizona or recently in connecticut, you may limit the ability of the shooter to do as much damage. host: what about the mental health provisions, again?

do you agree that people who may have mental health issues should not get guns? there are some privacy issues here, quite a conversation on our twitter feed about whether or not taking a drug for mental health issues is tantamount to not getting a firearm. guest: i definitely agree we have to be extremely concerned about individuals with significant mental illness having access to a weapon which can do tremendous amount of damage, as we have seen all across this country. we also have to invest in our mental health system in a way we have not, both at the local, the state, and the federal level. that, i think, is something -- is something that has been understood in my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. we can't allow the mental health system and our inability to provide comprehensive treatment to those who can live a normal

life, but because of the failure of our ability and the lack of investment that we have made, we have turned them loose in some instances on the street, and a small fraction of them will ultimately find themselves with a weapon and we will see the type of tragedy we witness. in orchard park, new york, the democrats line. you are in with representative hakeem jeffries, democrat from your home state. caller: thank you and good morning. question relating to a question that was just relayed to the previous congressman, congressman brady, and the question was, should we change the law that says that medicare cannot negotiate drug prices with the major pharmaceutical companies, and congressman brady's answer was, we should leave the law forbidding medicare from negotiating lower drug prices because it was not

save a nickel. i know that is not true because every industrialized nation permits negotiation for drug prices and their prescription drug prices are substantially lower, such as canada. i've got a two-part weston to you, mr. jeffries. should we eliminate that law and permit medicare such as the va noun does, to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices, and the second part of that question, and we have been asking a lot of c-span viewers am a viewers have been asking for a long time, why doesn't c- span permit a progressive like you along with what i think would be considered a conservative congressman like congressman brady on the same program at the same time so that he would not be able to get away with an answer like, it was not save a nickel. your thoughts? guest: we are thankful for you and the question you raised

which captures the answer that was given by congressman brady. i certainly disagree. .e should allow for negotiation it will significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs, as has been demonstrated by other countries such as canada. and if in fact it is the case that because of the increase population of our seniors as well as the fact that they are living longer that medicare will face some structural challenges moving forward, then it seems logical we should do everything possible to lower the cost of the program. and one significant way to do it is to allow for the market to take place. now, many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle consistently turn to the market as a force for good, and in this instance, of course it will be a force for good for the american people and we are

allowed governments, the united states as well as different states the negotiate in bulk for a more reasonable price related to prescription drugs. host: james tweets in. the federal government has too much revenues already. you need to make do with what you get. i think when you look at the connection between revenue, for instance, and economic growth, what is interesting is that during the clinton administration, eight years, we ,ad the top tax rate at 39.6% and more than 20 million jobs were created for americans. and then during the next eight years under the presidency of top tax ratethat was dropped to 35% and we lost more than 500,000 jobs. and so, the facts are just inconsistent with the notion that tax rates, if you decrease them am a will lead to economic growth.

now, as it relates to the overall problem, debt and access of $16 trillion as well as consistent federal efforts at -- deficits, those are issues we should be reasonably discussing and the president's proposal would reduce the deficit by, i believe, $1.8 trillion over the a 10-year period over -- on top of the deficit reduction we already achieved. rightare moving in the direction, but the responsible approach is a combination of where meritedses and expenditure reductions in a targeted way that is sensitive to the fragile nature of our economic recovery. host: walter is in toledo. independent line. you are on with hakeem jeffries, democrat from new york third all -- co-i just wanted to democrat from new york.

caller: i just wanted to point out a few things. i am a felon and former criminal. i remember, you know, committing crimes i remember doing crimes during i mean, the clinton assault weapons ban. as aver affected me criminal. actually, it seemed like it was easier. i would also like to point out -- they weren't criminals until they committed a crime. you understand what i mean? want toderstand you take measures to prevent it, and i think the best measures we can do as a community just like in our community is actually make the current laws that we have

more stricter and more stronger. i have seen people go to prison and get out and i've seen people go to jail three or four times a month, and it is like nothing's happening. there is a breakdown in the lower level of the judicial system. host: before we get an answer, can you tell us why you are a felon? caller: when i was 16 i actually was involved in a conspiracy to commit arson. host: at 16 you became a felon? caller: yeah. well, that was when the crime was committed. i did not become a felon until i was 18. host: ok. if you went to a gun show today or online, could you buy a gun? have you attempted to at all? caller: no, there is no reason for me to. host: right, but could you, do

you think? do you think the laws are strict enough to prevent a felon from buying a gun? caller: well, i know where most places do echo checks, so as a felon i would avoid a background check -- i would be denied. i know a lot of felons don't know of any -- what do you call it -- and all these for failing a background check. as of right now, there isn't any, if i am not mistaken. but no, i would not go to a gun show. that would not make any sense. if i did, i probably wouldn't try to buy a gun, since i know they do background checks there. walter, what kind of work do you do today? caller: right now i am a stay- at-home dad. host: thanks for calling in this morning. representative jeffries. guest: there are consequences of failing a background check, and in the proposal we are

voting on in the senate, those will be increased. there are, gated reasons for the violence that is taking place in america -- there are competent reasons for the violence that has taken place in america, nobody can dispute that we have a problem that requires additional action. since the newtown shooting cut -- since the newtown shooting, thousands of additional americans have been killed from gun violence. we have five percent of the worlds population and 50% percent of the world's guns. you have got to make sure that those guns don't find themselves in the hands of criminals. we have got to make sure we respect the second amendment and the individual right to bear arms. the supreme court has affirmed that area there is no constitutional crisis or threat at this moment. no one, i believe, wants to take runs out of the hands of law-abiding americans, but we have got to do as much as we can to prevent criminals, who will do our children and others harm, from getting access to

those weapons, and the assault weapons ban that was referenced by previous caller did have an impact on the reduction of crime. law enforcement professionals have acknowledged that almost uniformly, all across the country, the reason why many of them support tougher gun laws. host: listening to walter, though, a felon, 16, a crime when he was a kid, essentially, should he be allowed to get rid of that felon label at some point in his life, in your view, and resume voting, perhaps purchase a firearm legally if he is interested? tost: well, with respect the purchase of a firearm, that is incredibly problematic and i would not support that. but in terms of re-engaging as a productive ash as a citizen in our society, we need you everything possible. we have to make sure we give individuals a second chance and

that is something that resident george w. bush, to his credit, championed and supported. we have to do more to help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reenter great into our society. we don't create productive opportunities for them to be functional citizens, provide for their families, and for themselves, ultimately it will cost to the community and the society in terms of re- incarceration. what is interesting -- in new york state it costs about $200,000 to incarcerate a young 16-year-old, for instance. but if we were to spend $20,000 in addition to what is currently being spent educationally, we can provide for an incredibly robust afterschool program, recreational opportunities, summer in richmond, programs have been proven to increase the likelihood that juvenile crime would decline.

it is the right thing to do to invest in a preventative way and help people on the backend, but it is also a cost-effective thing to do for our country. , and walter intimated frank rizzo tweets in -- i mean, essentially, criminals can get guns if they want. guest: one of the reasons why we need a national solution is because we have a patchwork of laws in this state. in new york state, under the leadership of andrew cuomo, we passed some the toughest gun laws in the country. prior to that, when i was in the state legislature, we had a tough laws already on the books. most of the weapons that are used in crimes that take place in the neighborhoods that i represent, or other inner-city communities across the country, largely come from purchases that were made in states such as those in the deep south, whose

laws are very different, and then it legally make their way .nto our communities for instance, up the i-95 corridor, commissioner ray kelly of the nypd has frequently talked about this problem. one of the other things under consideration that we think is a good chance to pass is a federal anti-gun trafficking statute that is designed to prevent the illegal interstate trafficking of guns in a manner that is impacting places like the city of chicago. there are a whole host of social economic issues and family structure breakdowns that we need to also deal with simultaneously. haveoorest laws that we don't explain completely the gun violence problem that we have in america, but certainly responsible members of congress must engage in trying to do as

much as possible to fix the broken laws that we have right now. host: you are watching and listening to "washington journal," and we are speaking to representative jeffries of new york. ron is a republican in missouri. caller: i have three comments. one, if we take and start executing people, have a national law that if someone has , thatand shot someone they are executed and have public executions, this would d eter a lot of the problem with gun violence. what wewo, i think that need to do is make sure that until we get a balanced budget, congress doesn't get paid.

have a national law passed that congress needs to take and pay attention and do their job, make sure that they pass a balanced budget. ?ost: number three, ron caller: number three, this thing about social security, i would like to hear mo are -- more about that. i understand it will start cutting our social security next month about 25%. i would like to hear about that. host: ron, where did you hear that they are going to cut your social security 25% next month? caller: i heard that, uh, on google.he gooble -- they're going to start cutting a 25%. host: all right. can you start with point number three? it is the first i have ever heard about that. guest: first i have ever heard

of it as well. there are all sorts of roomers that certainly but that has no basis in reality. it relates even as to sequestration, social security has been exempted and will have no change in benefits at all under the sequestration that we currently face in america right now, and moving forward, there will be a discussion as it relates to the future solvency of social security. but nobody is contemplating a 25% cut in benefits. i don't support any cut in benefits. but nobody is supporting such a dramatic cut. call fortes to the public executions, i don't support the death penalty in any way, shape, or form, for two reasons. number one, it is not proven to be an effective deterrent, and it is not a humane way for society to proceed. it has been evidenced all

across the country from texas, illinois come and other states states where individuals have been sentenced to die who were subsequently proven to be innocent. one of the founding principles of the countries to make sure sure that we protect the rights of the innocent, and if you have an extreme, a reversible measure in the death penalty that is subject to human imperfection, not something that we can tolerate. the second point i believe that was raised, the third i will address, relates to the question of no budget, no pay, which was a measure that had been passed by the house and the senate this time. it is a measure i voted against largely because as a member of the state legislature, when we had the same sort of provision, it creates perverse incentives. we should be in the congress doing our job based on what is best for our constituents on any given matter, certainly on

budget matters, and not what is this -- what is best for the pocketbooks of an individual congress person or legislator, where if we don't pass a budget even if it is one we don't support, it will have implications. that is why i don't support it. immigration hearings been scheduled at this point? guest: there have been to immigration committee hearings, one in january and one last month. we anticipate additional ones. it is an incredibly important issue and has got, again, significant support from all a majority of her martin's support it, particularly when those understand that the pathway to citizenship will involve those who are currently undocumented have to pay back taxes and learning fish and undergo a criminal background check, and

then they will be put at the .ack of the line this is something that america should do, and it is consistent with our values. we cannot have 11 million undocumented individuals living in the shadows. if we are able to incorporate them into the system in a meaningful, transparent way, it will add value to our economy and help us to grow economically. that is a good thing for all americans. audrey, fort myers, florida, independent line. caller: yes. i am interested in finding out what is going on with the windfall elimination tax. it was passed in the 1980s, that reduces the amount of social security to people who work in public, like i work in the sheriffs office and my husband works for the sheriff's office. weor to that we have had -- were never aware of the law

until we went to get our social security and found out that they were going to reduce our amount. i was just wondering why the government never let people know, because after we had all those years, we might have made at different career choice, like when my husband got out of the military and he decided to go to the sheriffs office. had he known about the windfall elimination, he might have gone on and taken a different rear, which would have entitled him to get full soul so sick of -- a different career path, which would have and tired -- entitled him to get full social security benefits. i knew i watched it on the internet, that for years they were trying to repeal that. i wonder what is going on with that. --t: thank you, andrea audrey. guest: it is something i will take a close look at. it has not been part of the overall debate, but i'm certain that as we deal with the specifics of the president's proposal on the need to engage on social security as we move forward, it is something that should be considered. i don't think we should be does

incentivizing individuals to the extent that we may be under current law from art is abating public service, working for the government, certainly from going into law enforcement. we need to incentivize that. these are individuals who make us safe. treats in -- tweets in to you. guest: i think my rating was an f and i proudly wear that rating because i believe the nra has gone the on the meantime -- beyond the mainstream of even gun owners in america. there were four back rent checks before they were against it and there has been no reasonable excavation offered by wayne .apierre as to the change host: jason, jackson, mississippi, republican. caller: good morning. thank you. i appreciate the previous color, his honesty and the courage to

discuss it on national tv. i want to ask the congressman, though -- he asked -- he mentioned earlier, or seemed to call the tax rates in the clinton administration and the tax rates in the bush administration at those times in the respective economic limit. that if you take capital out of the markets you have fewer opportunities to raise capital. boom andg the dot-com the 1990s, we know that the market is so flooded with capital that even if you raise tax rates they will stifle economic growth. he seems to link tax rates and economic success, which we generally know are not two things that link, such as economic tax rates don't rise from economic stimulators of the country. i was hoping to get a comment on that. economically speaking, those two are not so linked. tax hikes do not bring about economic growth or economic

restraint. i was hoping to get a comment and discuss how the economic idea behind that statement. host: thank you, jason. guest: thank you for raising that point. essentially what i was saying is that tax rates do not constrain economic growth in a way that many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would suggest. during the clinton administration, incredible growth, 20 million jobs created, a budget surplus passed along to president george w. bush and then squandered. what the gop budget in the house suggests is that we should take the tax rate at 39.6%, which was just enacted as part of the fiscal cliff deal in january, and lower it dramatically to 25% on the premise that lowering the top tax rate will generate economic growth. my point is that there is no evidence to suggest that that took place. 2003 as a result of

the bush tax cuts that largely benefited, disproportionately benefited the wealthy and the well-off. when you took the clinton-era tax rates of 39.6% and drop them down to 39% -- 35% under the bush administration, we see what occurred, i catastrophic collapse of the economy, record budget deficits am a dramatic increase in our debt, the squandering of a budget surplus, and more than 500,000 jobs lost in the eight years of the george w. bush presidency. representative jeffries, have you had a chance in your few months up here in washington to get to know any republicans? , i have gotten an opportunity to meet some members of the freshman class. tom condon and i appeared at an ourc panel to express continued support for the state of israel and the importance of israel. of course, as a close ally of the united states, that is a

bipartisan issue. many of the members of the committees that i serve on on the republican side i have gotten to know to some degree, in the context of the committee hearings that have taken place. i'm looking forward to getting to know members on both sides of the aisle. i think we are sent here to do a mission for the american people, to find common ground. we should conduct ourselves consistent with the principles of our constituencies and the particular ideological bent that we may have, it should come into play to some degree. but at the end of the day, and doing what is right for the american people, tempting to find common ground and create solutions is ultimately what should drive us, regardless of religion -- rigid ideology on both sides of the aisle. host: how is nancy pelosi doing as the democratic leader? guest: she is doing a tremendous job. we have a unified democratic congress and the major pieces

of legislation passed out of the house of representatives have been passed with overwhelming democratic support. that was the case with the fiscal cliff deal in early january, the case with the passage of the superstorm sandy release package in january as well, that was also the case in february with the passage of the violence against women act that included protections for members of the lgbt community, native americans and immigrants. that was all done as a result of the leadership of nancy pelosi, her vision, a unified democratic conference, and she is doing a tremendous job and will do anything better job as the next speaker of the united states congress. host: last call for hakeem jeffries comes from that converge, independent -- comes from upon roush, independent line. caller: good morning. i don't see where there is any agreement on republicans or democrats in the last few years. a little question -- do you see any future that you all going

to finally agree on something to get this country moving? i guess the last two years, there has been so much disagreement on both sides of the aisle that this country is not moving ahead and you are seeing the problems it may. guest: oh, i certainly think that the class of the 113th congress, freshman democrats and republicans were sent to congress with a mission to find common ground and get things done. in 2010 the country was angry for a wide variety of reasons. the economy was in a difficult place but people were suffering. and we got some angry members of the house of representatives, perhaps reflective of the movement of -- the mood of the country. that is what the founders of the country suggested that house should be, an entity that reflects the current passions of the market people. the passions of the american people in 2012 is that we should get things done on the work together.

despite the rhetoric, what we have seen in the house of representatives is, as i was just suggesting or explaining in my prior commentary around several pieces of legislation -- the fiscal cliff deal, superstorm sandy, the violence against women act -- we have seen bipartisan cooperation and support coming out of the divided house of representatives in order to get a final adjustment of product that was presented to the president. hopefully we will see more of that moving forward, particularly around the budget, gun violence prevention, comprehensive immigration reform. that is what the american people expect and that is what they should get. been talking with hakeem jeffries, a first-term are in congress, democrat from new york, first time visitor to our "washington journal" set. please come back. guest: thank you for having me. host: 40 minutes left until the house comes into session. we will turn to the issue of the gun control debate, the background checks.

her great cordy -- gregory korte usa today" we'll take your calls. job numbers this our show that americans looking for unemployment benefits fell last week to 346,000. that suggested that march's week month of hiring may be a temporary slowdown. it reversed sharp gains over the previous two week. reaction to the data pushing stock futures higher this morning, with the s&p 500 rising 1.8 points and the dow futures up 11. turning back to the issue of gun control, vice president joe biden, in an interview earlier on msnbc, says that opponents of stricter gun laws are creating him in his words, paranoia and spreading disinformation about the obama administration's gun control proposals, adding that none of the measures under consideration in the senate

would infringe on a constitutional right to bear arms. he went on to say that, "this is one of the cases where the public is so far ahead of the elected officials. i mean, so far ahead. you saw it in immigration, you saw it in marriage issues, you are seeing it now. the public has moved to a different place. sas usual vote is set for 11:00 a.m. eastern. -- a procedural vote is set for 11:00 a.m. eastern. here the coverage on c-span radio and alive gabble to gavel coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. saturday on american history tv, chance to weigh in life on emancipation civil rights and the role of corporations in american life. 9:30 a.m. eastern with a look at the history of black freedom movements from a followed by your questions live

at 11:00 for a stanford professor. then at noon, a debate on the role of corporations in american life, also followed by your questions live at 1:30 four a yell professor and a stanford professor. at 9:00 life, saturday a.m. eastern on c-span3 tv. "washington journal" continues. host: here is the front page of "usa today" this morning. the article written by gregory korte he of "usa today." what is happening in the senate in a few minutes? guest: they will come into senate and they have to wait at least an hour. they will have a quorum call. then we will have a procedural vote and it will be one of the most-watched procedural votes in the senate for a long time, a proceed tootion to

debate on the gun bill, an attempt to get around a filibuster by conservative republicans on that bill. it is closely watched because the nra says it is going to score it and take that vote into account as it gives members of the senate their letter grades in advance of the next election. it is a key hurdle to even get to a bill. , we could go to a weeks long debate about the gun bill out of the judiciary committee and also any number of amendments that would be presented by senators over the next days and weeks. toomey -- thathin- is an amendment, correct? that ithere was a hope could get out ahead of the bill as a stand-alone bill. at this point, the the only way to do it is as an amendment. harry reid says it will be the

first amendment, amendment number one. the amendment that makes all the other amendments possible, because this is seen as a breakthrough that will allow enough republicans to see that there is some room for compromise, that they are comfortable voting this morning to allow debate to proceed. , if theygory korte don't get to 60 votes, if the democrats do not file cloture or are able to get cloture, what happens? harry reid says he will continue to hammer away at this issue and seek further cloture votes down the line, essentially forced the republicans into a filibuster. the reason why in minor senate history filibusters are usually just a second and never happened big -- is because threat of a filibuster can stop consideration of a bill. harry reid will call that bluff and will push consideration of the bill and if republicans filibuster he will make them come to the board -- come to the

floor and filibuster. host: is there a plan by republicans to filibuster? guest: when you say " republicans" you are talking about -- host: individual members. guest: the most-watched are rand paul of kentucky, mike lee of utah, ted cruz of texas. those are the ones talking about the filibuster the most lately, although the past couple of days they have had a somewhat more nuanced statement on this. what they say is that they are not trying to block or over the bill, they just want to extended debate. they think the issue is important as the second amendment is important as gun rights deserves a drawnout debate in the senate where every amendment gets a good back-and- forth, a good discussion. the problem we have right now is and we have a skeleton bill we don't know what amendments are going to be offered, we don't know what the final substance is going to look like. they say they are justified in drawing the debate as long as possible so that people can understand it. host: we read an article earlier

about senator coburn calling nchin-toomey amendment unworkable. should we keep an eye on how he votes on cloture as well? guest: coburn is an interesting player in this because before a manchin-toomey amended there was a prospect of a coburn amendment. senator coburn act out, saying any kind of background check steam was going to be unworkable. even yesterday, senators to me and mention when out of their way to comment senator coburn for his helpfulness and insight and being helpful to the process, and a couple hours later, senator coburn released a statement saying he was against

this amendment that he had so much input on. what that means in terms of how he is going to vote this morning on the procedural vote is anybody's guess. as of late last night, there were still a lot of senators they need to see more about the amendment and take it into consideration. senators mansion and to me are just two of the cosponsors of the amendment. senators kirk and schumer -- why weren't they at the press conference? guest: you would have to ask tom, but manchin and toomey breakthrough to senators on sunrise. they both have a rating from the nra. may not be ther best faces to win over pro-gun votes. all for nothing" -- they

editorialize. "congresssells out to g congress sells out- " ." guest: well, that is a tabloid headline. the brady center and others see this as a positive development. president obama after sandy hook riposte to this package of gun control measures that really in recent months -- what you have heard from president obama is "i just want a vote." gregory korte is our guest, congressional reporter for "usa today." the senate has just come into session. reverend black is giving the invocation there. we will keep an eye on the senate to see if there is any action in the next half hour

while we are live "washington journal," and if so we will take that to you live. you can't turn to the senate on c-span2 if you are tired of our conversation on -- you can turn to the senate on c-span2 if you are tired of our conversation on "washington journal." go ahead, dominic. caller: i would like to comment on why all these democrats want to take our rights away, starting with the second amendment. this is very dangerous. this gun control will never end. it started in 1968. and all their proposed legislation will do nothing to protect our children. it will do nothing at all. that is what gets me offended mostly. you need armed police officers, maybe in pain clothes, and every school. theygets me appalled -- protect airports, state courts, federal buildings, federal judges, politicians, with armed , buts or homeland security our children are not being

protected. hunting rifles are much more powerful than these so-called assault weapons. a hunting rifle is much more harmful. if a guy goes into school with a rifle and kills 40 kids in four minutes, he keeps reloading, what difference does it make? host: all right, i think we got the point. mr. korete. guest: the collar points out the difficulty in legislating in this area, that all guns are different, and trying to figure out the threshold that makes a rifle and assault rifle, or how many rounds is too many when it comes to high-capacity magazines. the caller is from new york and the new york laws the capacity at seven rounds. many manufacturers do not make seven round clips are magazines. the copper mines was that you

can have a 10-round magazine but only put seven bullets in it. it is a tricky area to legislate in, and congress is trying to find the right balance. reed isnator introducing the senate as they open session. let's listen and see what he is saying or it -- see what he is saying. >> he fired nearly 80 rounds into this ihop restaurant that was packed for purpose with customers. breakfastpacked for with customers. he took his own life after that. that took 85 seconds. in those 85 seconds, five lives ended, countless more were altered forever. army national guard's men were on their way to work that morning, a 31 are old sergeant, a 38-year-old sergeant first class, and a 35-year-old

major. a woman eating breakfast with her husband was also killed, murdered. in that 85 seconds number the city joined the likes of tucson, fort hood, texas, blacksburg, virginia, and scores of other cities and towns in america rocked by mass shootings in recent decades. that is majority leader reid on the senate floor. you can go to c-span2 for the rest of the statement. we expect the senator mcconnell, the minority leader tom at two come out as well when senator reid is finished. he was talking about magazines, high-capacity magazines. one of the minutes that will be offered. guest: we have heard a lot of these stories and we will hear a lot more than in the next couple of weeks while senators talk about specific instances of gun violence and what might have been done to prevent them.

the caller from new york talked many areles and making the case that these are high-capacity, high-speed semi automatic weapons that show -- that fire a lot around in a short time and that can kill a lot of people. you have assault weapons as part of the conversation, you .ave magazine capacity how long do you have to shoot before you reload? questions andible each one of these is going to have one, maybe two, several amendments, each of senator with their own attempt to strike the right balance. on the front page of "usa today," what is been proposed -- the presidents proposal requires universal projects with commonsense exceptions only four in family transfers short-term hunting use, strengthens the national

instant criminal background check system by requiring better data from states, and the draft the senate gun bill mirrors the 's proposal with the narrow exceptions for background checks and the wednesday background check deal closes loopholes for gun shows and internet sales but exempts friends and neighbors, transactions between private individuals, allows states -- state concealed carry permits in view of background checks, prohibits the government for maintaining a gun registry, specificity -- specifies that medical privacy laws don't apply to mental health records and background check database, and reduces the background check turnaround time from three days to today's, and in four years it would be reduced to one day. the mental health provisions -- are those going to be controversial? guest: they are not getting as much attention and other web -- as other ones, but the concern

is that you don't want to stigmatize mental health issues to the extent that people who do want to seek health -- seek help and don't because they are afraid they will have their second amendment rights taken away from them. there is a question of what kinds of mental illness makes a person dangerous to themselves and others, and how the information is used once it gets into a database. the manchin-toomey proposal says that the health privacy law does not apply to those records. that is something that obama tried to work on through regulation. but it can still be difficult line to draw for congress as it takes this up. in new jersey, democrat. please go ahead. caller: first off, i am paralyzed from the neck down because i was shot 34 years ago by somebody -- a child playing

with his father's gun. another kid was killed your couple of days ago. a four-year-old shot a six-year- old with a gun. that can be made whatsoever that can cut down gun deaths because of the, that goes on not only -- the trauma that goes on not only for the individual and the families but the trauma to the country, because it pulls so many people away from work, so many people away from their responsibilities other than the families, and also, the cost for .he country in dollars talking about this big debt and deficit all the time, and nobody wants to talk about how much money it costs from the injuries that come from guns. 1000 people get shot every year in this country. host: can you tell us what

happened 30 years ago? 's father had ad gun and i was curious and i went over and i got shot by accident in the head. toave dedicated my life teaching children -- i have been speaking in schools the last 21 years on this issue. i asked children, how many of your parents own guns, and half the kids raise their hands. do any of your parents lock them up? many don't lock them up. they tell their kids "don't touch." it is a very responsible way of thinking. children will be children. host: thank you for sharing your personal experience. mr. korte. guest: yeah, and all too common story. here is the tricky part -- without going into details of whether that gun was legally own. obviously, if it happened 34

years ago, it was pre-background checks. what a background check have prevented his friends -- his friend's parents from owning that that if they were law- abiding citizens? at what point does personal response ability in the ownership and storage of guns -- what role does that have to play? you will hear a lot of republicans over the next couple of days in the senate talk about how a background check would not necessarily have invented a tragedy like that or many of the other tragedies -- not necessarily have prevented a tragedy like that or many of the other tragedies because guns are already so pervasive in our society and people can get them other ways. host: senator mcconnell is on the senate floor. watchn go to c-span2 to the whole thing could he just announced he would vote against cloture. gregory korte. guest: not surprising. he has been saying that the past few days. democrats only need a handful of republicans. it is not a given, by the way. there are some red state

democrats, rural democrats -- max baucus would be one of them, mark pryor -- who are big question marks as to whether they would proceed. host: mary landrieu? guest: mary landrieu is one of them. host: she and mark pryor are up for reelection. guest: so is baucus. a+ rating from the nra, highest rated democratic senator in the nra scores big he voted for a universal background check as part of the 1994 crime bill and was punished for it. he survived an election by five percentage points, a close election -- the closest election he ever had. he came back and years later and voted against the extension of the assault weapons ban. he has been walking a pretty fine line on gun rights ever since. he has been a reliable program gune in the senate -- pro- vote in the senate. but he is a much watched democrat. host: do you know what mary

landrieu's rating is -- guest: i do not. host: jocelyn, independent line. go ahead with your question for gregory korte of "usa today." caller: good day, gregory. i want to thank you for bringing up this important issue. i immigrated from canada 14 years ago and i met and fell in love with my husband, who happen to be from louisiana. he was active duty in the navy. we then went to live in louisiana, and it was my first exposure to guns. gun racks fromn the back of pickup trucks. it was quite a surprise. here is the deal, and this is what i cannot seem to wrap my mind around -- i am an intelligent, educated woman. i am actually a supporter of the right to bear arms. being that i am a lover of history and i study that very

much, when the constitution was written, it was written at a automatic guns would have been the same as something out of "star trek." it just wasn't there. my son is 12. when he turned 16, i am happy to see him go off with his father on his first hunting trip. but here is the deal -- military grade weapons, the fact that they are allowed to be in civilian hands, how did that ever come to be a loud and acceptable -- come to be allowed and acceptable? when my husband goes on his first hunting trip with his son , my son will have taken courses with my husband. he is a boy scout. you teaching him -- we are teaching him through the steps,

through their bb gun program, gun safety. cabinet.uy a gun i will not have ammunition in my home. as you said earlier, responsible gun ownership. weaponry is grade even considered to be allowed in the hands of civilians -- how did that ever come to be, sir? -- as we weres just saying before your call, congress in 1994 passed a crime bill that included an assault weapons ban and it was the law of the land for 10 years. during that time, we saw a columbine and a number of other shootings. congress in 2004, when it was time to renew the crime bill, decided that the assault weapons ban was , and chose to not extend that particular provision of the crime bill. there is a debate about what constitutes an assault weapon,

and you discussed military-style weapons. what makes something a military- style weapon? is the -- is it the pistol grip , the capacity, how many rounds it can shoot? a popular rifle, similar to the rifle that -- the rifle, a very popular similar to the rifle that adam lanza used in sandy hook, but also one that many hunters use and enjoy sporting with. that is probably going to be the most difficult part of this bill. it is the least popular of the many -- if you look at polls and you look at senators from it is the least popular of the many points you prescriptions out there. -- the many policy prescriptions out there. a.m. thats at 11:00 the senate will hold its cloture vote on the motion to proceed with the firearms bill. you can see senator blumenthal of connecticut on the floor of the senate. live on c-span2 if you want to

watch this free debate -- this voteebate or the actual at 11:00. gregory korte, you have an ohio background. did you grow up with guns? guest: i grew up as a city kid in cincinnati, so no, my parents did not have guns. i know people who have guns. ohio is a very diverse state, of every urban state but also a very rural state, and it is a swing state. it has this dichotomy of urban centers where guns are seen as a plate associated with gang violence and high murder rates, but guns are also seen in southeastern ohio and more rural parts of the state as a way of life, something to pass down to your children. rob portman, the senator from ohio, tells a story of how his grandfather was a swiss immigrant, found dead holding his hunting rifle with a smile on his face.

portman has taken possession of that done and handed it down to his children. way ofhat kind of a life in many parts of ohio and through the country. -- ifwhat happens after the senate actually passes a bill? the housegoes to then, and the house is controlled by republicans. speaker boehner has been very cautious -- we will wait and see and see what the senate does. there seems to be committed to at least take up what the senate does, but we will have to wait and see. but it is a republican- controlled chamber. it has a lot of rural votes from areas of the country with a strong gun culture. it would certainly be an uphill battle to get something passed in the house. host: do you foresee something happen -- something passing in the senate at this point?

i know it is early. guest: it is always dangerous to predict that. it seems like at least something will pass. the question is what that is. you could have any number of amendments. there may be a number of commitments to strengthen gun rights. even part of this manchin- toomey proposal are provisions that would protect people who want to cross state lines with the firearm from being subject to the local gun laws -- gun laws of the local jurisdiction if they are transporting across state lines. it would allow active service military members to more easily by their own guns. i would expect a number of provisions to allow people to carry guns in public places and inshore concealed carry reciprocity across states. we may have a mishmash of some provisions that are more stringent and some that are -- that strengthen or enhance gun rights. but my sense is that there will be something. we have talked,

about this toomey-manchin amendment as the background check a minute, but his -- but is it almost a substitute? guest: it is primarily around back on checks, and it was on track i wanted to be a substitute. at this point in the proceedings it can only be an amendment. -- it it was on track at one point to be a substitute. at this point in the proceedings it can only be amended. there are other provisions, but it is primarily background checks. there are amendments that deal with assault weapons, straw purchases, agassi in size, mental health. -- magazine size, mental health. host: louisiana, republican. hi. charlton? caller: yeah. host: go ahead. we are listening, sir. caller: i am wondering why all of this stuff had just begun.

why not knives? working people stab at a university in texas. and all the people run over and killed by drugs. allis it all directed -- the people run over and killed by drunks? why is it all directed at guns? the government is pushing so hard at guns. guest: i have heard that argument a couple of times the past couple of months. congress has enacted from -- has enacted drunk driving legislation past couple of years. blood-alcohol threshold is coming down in a lot of states. those have been dealt with legislatively. host: connecticut senator blumenthal, democrat, is on the floor of the senate, talking about the gun-control control debate with regard to newtown, connecticut.

he has been showing photographs of some of the victims on the floor of the senate. c-span2 if you would like to watch the full debate. in a little over an hour is when the cloture vote is scheduled to happen. in illinois, democrat. caller: hello? host: we are listening. ofler: i guess i was kind listening to the people calling in about the gun control. i did notice that most of the ones that want no gun control at all seem to be white males. all the guys doing the killing seem to be white males, upper- class kind of community. i don't understand -- i see the mothers, the women calling and wanting some kind of legislation, but the males seem threatened by that for some reason. meant whattitution it meant for our forefathers,

for all of the people, all this time, we wouldn't have needed a civil war or a civil rights bill. when 70 tells me about our constitution, and i am a minority -- i am japanese and american -- i feel to myself that, you know, have you all lost the history of your own country, of our country, knowing what it has been about from our forefathers? the constitution did not mean anything to a lot of people at all of its time. i am wondering why they keep bashing on this constitutional thing. you've got the right to bear arms. we're just a saying don't bear them 600 rounds of ammunition. host: the caller was connecting the dots between two hot button issues, guns and race. the experience she has with guns is different from the extremes many americans have with guns. differentoblem --

from the experience many americans have with guns. it is a problem that needs an national solution rather than a patchwork. guns move easily across state lines from community to community. guns purchased and in every are at respects gun rights can be more to an area that have skepticism about violence and the chaos that they can bring. and there is going to be all sorts of issues of race and class and other issues that are -- form kind of the long view that it will approach this issue with. -- that people approach this issue with. host: we have five minutes left in "washington journal." the senate will be voting on closure to the gun bill debate. gregory korte, if people want to read the manchin-toomey-schumer -kirk bill, you know where it is online? guest: not much to read at this

point. a3-page fact sheet that outlines the provisions. unless something happened this morning that i am not aware of, the legislative line which is being worked through. host: ok, and we have shown that fact sheet on "washington journal" this one. you shouldn't, republican -- michigan, republican. caller: yes three i was listening to you this morning, and the guy that was on there before this one was talking -- he was a democrat, and he -- he bill no paid -- he voted against that because he did not want to lose his pay in his first term. i figured the best thing you could do is to drop the straight ticket voting, as the people pay attention to who is running, and vote for the person that they

feel is going to do the job, because most of them, i feel, is in there just for the money and not for the people. i would like to know what could be done about that. host: any response for that color, mr. -- that caller, mr. korte? guest: i don't think there is much to say about that, no. host: rachel, go ahead. caller: my neighbor, he had a mental issue, and he shot at us when we were growing up. we had to live next door to him. they never came in and got his gun. i cannot understand these people who think their rights will be taken away because all they are saying is a background check to make sure that somebody does not have a gun that is crazy, and a smaller clip -- and you hear my constitutional rights, whatever. they have tobe --

be zombies to think that their rights are going to be taken away from them. , itays in the constitution talks about, uh, changing the -- for violence. i just don't understand how people think their guns could be taken away from them -- host: oh, sorry, rachel, i thought you were finished. mr. korte. guest: well, the second amendment has its roots in a very different time in the country, a few short years away from what they saw as tyranny. it was an amendment written in a different time and this is the debate we are having, how relevant is the second amendment in 2013, moving from this agrarian society to an industrial society to really a postindustrial society.

what does it mean for the right of the people to keep and bear arms? --t: right wing tweets in again, what is going to happen at 11:00? exist,the bill does senate bill 649. you can go and look it up. kind of- it is really a placeholder bill, a skeleton bill that will have amendments put onto it. bill this was the senate that the judiciary committee voted out of committee, correct? guest: yes. it includes the obama language more or less on background checks. it does not include any language on an assault weapons ban. it has mental health provisions. there are going to be any number of amendments to that bill that -- some that we know are coming.

we have a vague idea what they are about. very few do we have any exact language on. some we don't even know where they are going to come yet. this is part of the legislative process. it is kind of a return to regular order in the senate, where you have an open process and senators candidate in bring their own ideas to the table. -- senators can debate it and bring their own views to the table. reed said late on the floor wednesday that the first amendment that can be offered to the bill will be the check,-toomey background mice. at this point we do not know if there is going to be debate on the bill, correct? guest: not until 11:00 with that cloture vote. host: if 60 votes are achieved, then? 30st: then we have at least hours of debate and any number of amendments, each with their debates.b- it is always hard to get it wi